What Color is a Polar Bear's Fur?

David has had a variety of life experiences which he loves to share with his readers.

A polar bear cub with what appears to be a nice white coat of fur. | Source

A Polar Bear's Fur is White, Right?

Most pictures and video taken of polar bears show this white fur that covers their entire body. However, sometimes a polar bear's fur is seen to be yellow as well. How can that be? Are there black polar bears out there? Blue? Purple?

The only way to find out is to read on.

The fur of a polar bear made wet by the water. What color does it appear to be when the polar bear is under water? | Source

Polar bear with what appears to be yellowish fur, or is it? | Source

Polar Bear Fur Color

First off, the polar bear has two types of fur. The first, an underfur, is dense in nature. The second are the guard hairs, which is where the color of the fur on the polar bear actually comes from.

The fur color on a polar bear isn't white in color. In fact, their fur color is actually transparent, or colorless. But to the naked eye, the color of fur on a polar bear appears to be a white or tan color. The light reflects off of the polar bear's transparent fur and when our eyes process the light it appears to be an actual color, when it doesn't have a color at all.

There are other factors that can change the fur color on a polar bear. For example, as a polar bear ages their guard hairs can start to discolor, eventually turning to a yellow coat of fur. But this doesn't happen in all cases.

Something different happens to the color of fur on a polar bear when it's kept in captivity for long periods of time, especially in those cases where a polar bear is kept in climates that are warm and humid. Algae can grow directly inside of the guard hairs, resulting in their fur turning a light shade of green. But this is as very subtle change in their fur color and can be treated by a professional that knows how to treat polar bear fur.

The underfur is also transparent, but it's solid, as opposed to the guard hairs which are hallow.

So while various factors can affect the color of a polar bear's fur, their bodies are covered with transparent guard hairs that our eyes interpret as being white in color.